Al Golden poised to rebound from disappointing 2013 signing class

Hurricanes in running for top 2014 players.

University of Miami football coach Al Golden will be the first to admit that his 2013 recruiting class left something to be desired.

The Hurricanes did well, but Golden and crew missed out on some sorely needed players at positions where depth is questionable.

The Hurricanes went all-in with a few players who were late announcing, or even Signing Day commits, and as often as they won, they lost.

The loss of players like Keith Bryant, of Delray-Atlantic, and Matthew Thomas, of Miami's Booker T. Washington, to Florida State have riled up the Miami fan base — perhaps more so than the landing of Northeast receiver Stacy Coley or Miramar linebacker Jermaine Grace — but the Class of 2013 left no doubt in my mind that Golden and his staff are recruiters of the highest caliber.

The reasons why Miami lost out to players on National Signing Day stem from the confounding and unexplainable — "I guess he didn't like us as much" — to the expressly stated and obvious. The truth lies somewhere in the middle with each prospect, but now is no time to look back and wonder "what if?"

It can be argued that no team had more of a handicap recruiting than Miami. Penn State and other schools which have felt the hard-headed (in more ways than one) hammer of the NCAA might beg to differ, but those programs could at least say with certainty what they can and cannot do in the future.

With Miami, the NCAA's indecision was downright crippling. Even after two years of self-sanctions, Golden cannot go into a prospect's living room and say, with conviction, that the worst is behind Miami.

That's a severe detriment on the Hurricane program. It's hard to convince a young man that going to Miami for four (or in the case of Coley, a self-defined three) years would be the best for him as a man and a football player, if you don't know if the NCAA might deflect its own insecurities onto Miami, which is the easiest of targets.

The counterpoint to any argument that the NCAA is hurting Golden and his staff is that the Hurricanes don't have to travel far to find high-quality players. It should even out — for every hampering, the Hurricanes have an unfair advantage going their way. For the most part, that's true.

Perhaps that looming NCAA doom passes over soon, but in the meantime, the Hurricanes have done surprisingly well. Despite the losses on some marquee players, Golden is undoubtably an excellent recruiter. With, as he put it, "one hand tied behind his back," Golden signed the 18th-best recruiting class in the country, according to the 247sports.com composite rankings of the four major scouting services.

Texas doesn't have to deal with NCAA sanctions while being the epicenter of the talent-rich Lone Star State, but the Longhorns were only two spots ahead of Miami on those rankings.

Once the dark cloud of the NCAA is lifted, no matter what the outcome, I expect Golden to prove, unequivocally, that he's among the nation's best at assembling talent.

Golden has a head start on next year's crop and at the two positions where the Hurricanes missed big in 2013, running back and defensive tackle, Miami is ready for redemption. Those positions are loaded in the 2014 class, and Miami has done an exceptional job in positioning itself to land South Florida's best.

American Heritage running back Sony Michel named Miami one of his top five schools Monday, along with Florida State, Notre Dame, Florida and Georgia. The far-too-early odds put Miami as the favorite.

The defensive tackle position is even more loaded. Both Chaminade-Madonna's Khairi Clark and St. Thomas Aquinas' Anthony Moten like what they see from the Hurricanes. Landing one would be huge for the 'Canes. Landing both would leave no doubt that the Hurricanes are elite once more.

For now, patience is the key. Signing Day is more than 350 days away, and in that time, the unpredictable will likely happen, but Miami's stock is trending upwards.